This German collective formed in 2000; now on their second full-length album (that appears to have been released in November last year) ‘Sygn’ brings another slab of power metal to a very busy and popular market. This is a genre that just simply has not gone away; whilst trends in genres come and go power metal has had a healthy following for a number of years now. But this also means that you have to release exceptional albums to stand out from the rest of the crowd.
‘Angels Assassination’ does not start off the album very well at all. Whilst musically it’s ok with its swept picking on guitars, the vocals are strained with too many “warbling” effects for my liking. Ok, singer Andreas Grundmann has all the aspirations to be a Bruce Dickinson vocalist, its just that the range seems too much and often becomes a bone of contention. It is not until ’27 Years’ that the vocals actually fit and work well. Tracks that appear in a lower musical key work better, like that on ‘Borderline’. The instruments are arranged to a standard formula, I cannot hear anything that different to that of the hundreds of other power metal bands, the aforementioned ’27 Years’ and ‘Dawn on the Road’ are the stand out tracks musically. This is such a shame as they are the last two tracks on the album. If you are happy to listen the “best of the rest” then that’s your bag, but I like to hear power metal that stands out that little bit more, especially on a second album that usually has ideas from a bands infant years. One good thing is that there are no keyboards on the album sort-a-speak, so that is one advantage when listening to ‘Sygn’.
I was disappointed with this release if I am totally honest; the main sticking point for me was the vocals. German bands usually have a more guttural or powerful vocal delivery, this album just does not do it for me at all. No matter how many times I have tried to listen to this album, it does not grow on me at all. Yes the arrangements are laid out well and there are plenty of clichéd moments, but not enough to stand out from the rest of the crowd.
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